Tastemade CEO on $90M Wonder deal and why content is the new commerce

Wonder, the parent company of Grubhub and Blue Apron, is acquiring Tastemade for $90 million in a move that signals a future where content, commerce and advertising are even more deeply linked.

Tastemade is a digital media company known for its lifestyle food and travel programming across social platforms, streaming services and its own FAST (free ad-supported TV) channels. With over 160 million followers across social media and a growing portfolio of shoppable video experiences — including livestreamed content on Amazon Prime Video — Tastemade is aiming to connect its high-quality content with real-time shopping. The deal will enable it to integrate transaction data to ensure there’s end-to-end measurement and transparency for advertisers.

For instance, someone watching a travel show set in Tuscany can buy a bottle of Chianti featured in the show instantly on the Wonder app. It’s a seamless, shoppable ecosystem that promises frictionless possibilities for advertisers — linking inspiration to transactions with measurable results.

The Current spoke with Tastemade Co-Founder and CEO Larry Fitzgibbon to explore the logic of the deal and what’s next for advertisers.

How did this acquisition come about?

Marc [Lore, Wonder’s CEO] is very focused on becoming the super app for mealtime. He’s really thinking about owning food through a vertically integrated approach. Our view was if you were going to do that, you would want to own the tip of the spear. How are you connecting with consumers around storytelling and content and video?

Vertical integration, meaning the more that you can control, the more you can keep people in your ecosystem?

Yes, that’s the power of content. I think we’ve learned over time that there are different ways to monetize those relationships and content. With this, we’re excited about adding a new way of monetization. Historically, Tastemade primarily made money through advertising and our relationships with brands.

There are a couple of things we can do. One is use the power of Tastemade to speak to audiences, connect with them and build relationships to really help build the Wonder brands (including GrubHub and Blue Apron).

These are companies that obviously have full marketing apparatus, and we can really help them tell stories and connect with human tastes. That was one of the obvious opportunities. The other is telling stories with brands that deliver real transactions.

The exciting part is that we now have an end-to-end platform, so we can be with the consumer across the entire journey — from inspiration and storytelling all the way down to the transaction.

It seems like you’re riding the wave of what’s trending in the moment. Tastemade has been consistently ahead of the curve, starting with YouTube, then going to social, streaming and now a super app.

We’ve definitely been on the forefront. If you look at video on the internet, when we started Tastemade in 2012, we saw an opportunity in video. We didn’t know exactly how it would play out, but the first platform we focused on was YouTube. At the time, that was the only platform. But as each social platform added video, Tastemade was there.

When Facebook added video, we were there. When Snapchat launched with only 19 channels on Discover, Tastemade was one of them. When Instagram launched video and later Reels, Tastemade was a launch partner. We got into video early and thoughtfully. As platforms embraced short-form video, Tastemade was there to navigate it.

The same happened with streaming. We saw the beginnings of FAST and started working with YouTube TV, which was a skinny bundle at the time. Since then, we’ve been on virtually every FAST platform and bundled platform. We were pioneers in programming a 24/7 linear streaming TV network. We’re proud of that.

Last year, we made a streaming TV show with them called Street Somm. In the show, a sommelier traveled across different cities, meeting cool restaurateurs and chefs, learning about each city’s culture. We turned it into a six-episode, half-hour show that aired on our streaming network. The show was nominated for a James Beard Award and an Emmy.

We’re always looking to understand how media is changing, and it’s changed dramatically over the last 12 years. This is no different. The companies succeeding in media now are the ones with direct relationships with consumers, whether through subscriptions or partnerships with larger companies like Amazon, which can also sell products to consumers.

Do you think big picture, this is a trend where apps will contain all these different elements, like content and shopping?

Yes, I definitely think content and commerce are coming together.

A company like Amazon has been working on advertising for about 20 years. They’ve grown their business and focused on advertising, and now they’ve emerged as an important player in that space. Other marketplaces and commerce companies are adding advertising to their businesses, which is driving their profits.

Advertisers want to get as close to the transaction as possible to know their money is working. But they also value a partner who can help them tell stories and reach the right audience.